Travel in Africa

Tourism in Africa is an important economic activity. The touristic particularity of Africa lies in the wide variety of points of interest, diversity and multitudes of landscapes as well as the rich cultural heritage.

In 2013, African tourism accounts for 4% of world tourism. However, it is attracting more and more visitors, as shown by the 2013 figures, which record 200,000 more visitors. The sector accounts for 7.1% of jobs on the continent, with 20 million workers in the field. It is considered as an engine of economic growth for the continent by the World Bank. In 2017, the World Economic Forum ranks South Africa as the most competitive country in sector.

(Giraffes in Maasai Mara National Park in Kenya, https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/File:Giraffes_in_Masai_Mara.jpg)

Africa welcomed 57.8 million tourists in 2016, 4.4 million more than in 2015, bringing $ 34.8 billion in tourism receipts. This represents only 5% of the total number of travelers in the world, but their number could reach 134 million in 2030, estimates the World Tourism Organization in its annual report published August 15, 2017. After South Africa and Morocco, Rwanda ranks as the continent’s third largest destination, with 1.2 million visitors a year, focusing on high-end and business tourism. The highest increases are Madagascar (+ 20%), Kenya (+ 17%), Tanzania (+ 16%), Cape Verde (+ 15%), Mauritius (+ 11%), Seychelles and South Africa (+ 10%), while the Maghreb is returning to positive values thanks to an improvement in the safety of travelers.

Regions

(Map of the regions of Africa)

North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia)
Countries bordering the southern shore of the Mediterranean Sea.

Sahel (Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Sudan, Chad)
The desert and savanna nations that cover the Sahel and the southern half of the Sahara.

West Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo)
The nations of the Atlantic tropical coast.

Central Africa (Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, South Sudan)
The heart of Africa.

East Africa (Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Uganda, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania)
Nations bordering the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Southern Africa (Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe)
The nations of the southern tip of Africa.

Other territories

Canary
Ceuta
Mayotte
Madeira
Melilla
Meeting
St. Helena

Towns

(Johannesburg, https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/File:South_Africa-Johannesburg-Skyline02.jpg)

Abidjan – Ivorian economic capital, it is a city of multinational diversity and the city center of West Africa.
Accra – Capital of Ghana; one of the most accessible cities in West Africa, for travelers.
Addis Ababa – Huge capital of Ethiopia; headquarters of many NGOs and the African Union.
Cairo – Largest city in Africa with the main monuments of Ancient Egypt nearby.
Cape Town – Emblematic Mother City of South Africa, built at the foot of Table Mountain and not far from the Cape of Good Hope.
Dakar – Capital of Senegal; most western city of Africa.
Johannesburg – Largest city in South Africa; probably the financial and economic center of the continent.
Luanda – Capital of Angola; has seen a huge renaissance this last decade.
Marrakech – City of Morocco, mix of old and modern.
Nairobi – Capital of Kenya; largest city of Central and Eastern Africa; is home to the United Nations Headquarters, excluding Europe and the United States of America. Nairobi National Park is the only natural reserve on the planet in the immediate vicinity of a capital city.

Other destinations

(Victoria Falls, https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/File:VicFalls_Flip666.jpg)

Comoe Grande National Park – Natural reserve of flora and fauna in the northern region of Côte d’Ivoire.
Aksum – Former capital of Ethiopia; famous for his steles and the ruins of these many palaces.
Dogon Country – Region of south-central Mali, renowned for its centuries-old villages on the flanks and in the cliffs and its very particular culture.
Kruger National Park – South Africa National Park, very popular and well managed.
Leptis Magna – Vast Roman ruins in Libya.
Kilimanjaro – Africa’s highest point, located in Tanzania, and prime destination for trekking.
Serengeti National Park – huge national park in Tanzania; perhaps the most typical nature reserve in Africa; he joins the Masai Mara Nature Reserve on the Kenyan border.
Valley of Kings – THE site of Ancient Egypt.
Victoria Falls – Beautiful waterfalls on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Volcanoes National Park – Last sanctuary for mountain gorillas; located in Rwanda.